bailey



lI-I. J. BAILEY. AIR GONDBNSING APPARATUS.

No; "173,283. Patented Jan. 14, 1868.

Aly/MZ? maj] H. J. BAILEY, OF PITTSBURG,l PENNSYLVANIA.

y Letters Patent No. 73,283, dated January I4, 1868.

IMPROVEMENT IN AIR-CONDENSING APPARATUS.

tlge Stlgihule nient inl in ilnse tcitei liltnit mit mating pnt nf ilgr time.

TO ALL WHOM IT MAY CONCERN:

Bc it known that I, H. J. BAILEY, of Pittsburg, in the county of Allegheny, and State of' Pennsylvania, have invented anew and improved Air-Condenser; aid I do hereby declare that the following istl full, clear, and exact description thereof, which will enable others skilled in the art to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification.

This inventionrelates to a new and improved apparatus for condensing air for various purposes, but more v'particularly for forcing liquids; and the invention consists4 in an arrangementolI vessels which communicate with cach other by pipes or tubes, such communication being controlled by valves cocks, which are operated by lloats and governed by hydraulic pressure, whereby the apparatus is made automatic or self-acting, as will be hereinafter more fully'described. i A

Ifigiure 1 represents a horizontal section of this apparatus, showing the arrangement of the condensingvessels, with the parts connected therewith.

Figures 2 and 3 are detailcdviewsot` parts which will be hereinafter referred. to.

Figure 4 is a modification ot the'sa'me device for condensing air, but arranged in a. different manner.

Similar letters of reference indicateA corresponding parts.

The important feature of my invention is making thc apparatusact automatically by hydraulic pressure. For this purpose I force the air from two vessels by the rise of the waterin them inte another vessel, at the same time raising the iloats and operatingr thc'cocks thereby, and'open'ing the proper communicationvbetween the vessels.

A A', iig. l, are two vessels, of suitable sizc and shape, which are identical in all their appointments, and

which receive the water, and from which the air is expelled by the rise of the water in them. B is the receiver or vessel into which the air from the other vessels is discharged. C represents an eight-way valve or cock, and D is the lever by which the valve or cock is operated. Each of the vessels A A has-a cylinder, E E', and each cylinder has a piston, a a', as seen in the drawing. c c. represent co'cks, which are attached to the cylinders, and which are operated b y floats, d d'. These cocks act alternately, openingr 'and closing the communication between them, through the pipe e. The eight-way valve or cock is operated by the .piston-rodf, which is attached to both the pistonsa a', as seen in the-drawing. The lever D is connected with this piston-rod, as secn'at g. As -the pistons are acted upon alternately by the pressure, they are driven ,bach and forth intheincylinders, and thus operate the valve or cock C, opening and closing the apertures as desired f or the admission and discharge of the water' and air. .The ope-ration of the floats in the' vessels A` A is seen` in the detailed views, figs. 2 and 3. H is the water-suppl`y pipe. As seen in the drawing, the vessel A is receiving water from thispipc through the valve or cock C and pipe H. J' is the water-pipe, which is, as seen, discharging water from the vessel A through the branch J and pipe J, while A is vfilling with it. The water-pipes H" and J are connected with the two vessels near their bottoms, so that all, or nearly all, the water may be discharged therefrom when the communication is opened. K K represent pipes which convey the compressed air froml the vessels A A to the valve C. These pipes are attached to the vessels A Aat their upper ends, and as the valve-changes the posi# tion of the apertures, they are alternately brought in communication with the pipe L, which connects them with the receiver B. m m are airsupply pipes for the vessels A A. O represents a check-valve in the pipe L, for the purpose of preventing back-pressure. As before stated, communication being open, water is entering the vessel A', and being discharged from the vessel A. The float d is being raised, and the air contained in A is being compressed as the water rises, and is forced into the receiver through the pipes K and L, as seen in the drawing. When the water raises the fioat d to \the position seen in g. 3, communication will be opened between the two vessels A A, through the pipe e and cocks c e', and the pressure of the water will force back the piston a, and thereby operate the eight-way valve or cock through the lever D. By this change of the valve the operation is reversed in the two vessels: water will be discharged from A, while it will now enter A,`

and the former operation will bc repeated.

It will thus be seen that the apparatus is automatic in itsoperation, and that the density of the air dis-V charged into the receiving-vessel D will correspond with the head or amount of water-pressure employed. By closing the inner ends of the cylinders E E', and opening the proper communications, itis evident that the pistons in these cylinders may be moved, and the valve C be operated by either water orair. And it will also be apparent'that the arrangement described may be varied so as to use a three-Way valve and a single'cylinder, in which cylinder either air or'water may be employed for operating the valve, substantially as represented in g. 4. In both cases the apparatus would be self-acting or 'automatic in its operation. Another consideration, which has more particular reference to the economy7 of my apparatus, is most important, and that is, the aii is condensed by hydraulic pressure, without an;1 waste of water. The spply-pipc being connected with the main," the water is let on by a cock, and passes through the apparatus as described, and is drawn oi'f for usc through the waste-pipe. It will be noticed that there is a discharge-pipe, P, on the receiver B, which pipe has a safety-valve, R, attached for regulating the pressure in the vessel; and also it has a cock in it regulating 'the discharge. New, if it s desired to keeptwcnty-ve'pounds pressure of air in the rcceiver,'thc safety-valve can .be adjusted for it, so that in drawing the water for domestic use from the \vaste-cock, theapparatus would be set in motion, and a quantity of air would be compressed and discharged into he receiver corresponding with the quantityof Water thus drawn ofi'. If by thus drawing oif the 'water the pressure should bc raised above the given point, the safety-valve would rise and diminish the'pressure.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

`1. The combination, with a. vessel for receiving and retaining air u nder pressure, of two vessels for receiving air and water alternately, co-o-perative' by means of cylinders, pistons, and pipes, for the purpose of condensing air, substantially as'dcscribe'd. l l i `2. In combinationwith the apparatus above named, I claim au eight-Way cock or valve, and a three-way cock or valve, substantially :is shown and described... l Y

3. I claim a condensingapparatus, to which air or water may be applied, for working the valves, and thereby rendering the operation of the sameself-acting or automatic, in the manner described.

H. J. BAILEY.

Witnesses:

Gao. C. BAILEY, W. I. DONAHUE. 

